Pakistan oil tanker truck explosion kills at least 120

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KARACHI (CNN) — At least 120 people died and 130 were injured when an oil tanker truck exploded in Bahawalpur city in eastern Pakistan, according to officials.

The accident occurred when the truck fell off the road it was traveling on Sunday morning, Mohammad Akhtar a police official with the city of Bahawalpur told CNN.

Villagers had gathered around the vehicle to collect its oil in containers when the vehicle exploded, Akhtar said. Many were covered in oil and burned and an emergency had been declared in the city, he said.

Punjab government spokesman Salman Sufi said that at least 120 people had been killed and 130 others injured in the explosion. Bahawalpur’s Victoria Hospital said it was treating 40 of the injured, all of whom had suffered 70% burns.

“(An) emergency has been declared in the hospital and we are treating the patients. At least 15 are critical at the moment,” Dr. Faqeer told CNN. Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif “expressed deep grief over the heavy loss of life,” his office said.

“The Prime Minister has directed provincial government to provide full medical assistance to the injured with burns,” it said. “The Prime Minister has expressed sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed for the departed souls.”